Langston will not appeal ruling

After a few days of contemplation, Lincoln County Justice of the Peace Stormy Langston said she does not plan to appeal U.S. District Judge James Wheelis’ ruling that county commissioners acted appropriately when consolidating justice of the peace positions and locations.

Barring unforeseen changes, the Justice of the Peace office in Eureka will stay open until the end of the year. Residents in Lincoln County’s north end will then have to drive to Libby to handle matters in the people’s court.

Terry Langston, Stormy Langston’s husband and campaign manager, said he disagrees with the decision.

“(County Commissioner) Tony (Berget) keeps referring to having two locations as a ‘Cadillac service,’” Terry Langston said. “Well, most people in Eureka don’t have a Cadillac to drive 72 miles, or 100 miles, to Libby.”

Stormy Langston said she did not think an appeal would be a worthwhile way to spend taxpayer money. Instead, she will focus on campaigning for the now-unified justice of the peace position that will handle all cases in Lincoln County.

Fellow Lincoln County Justice of the Peace Jay Sheffield, as well as Frank Fahland, will have their names printed as opponents in the June 3 primary ballot. However, Fahland said Wednesday he is no longer running for the position. Lincoln County Clerk and Record Tammy Lauer said Fahland requested to withdraw from the race past deadline, and Fahland’s name was already printed on ballots by the time he asked to pull out.

Kalispell attorney Tim Baldwin represented Stormy Langston and victim’s advocate Delora Haidle during the May 9 hearing in Wheelis’ court. Baldwin argued county commissioners did not follow Montana law when passing and signing Resolution 905, which consolidated the county’s justice of the peace offices. While Wheelis ruled from the bench that no violations were made, Langston said she feels the change unfairly limits some Lincoln County residents’ access to justice.

“Having to drive 70 to 120 miles one way to go to court is not an equal access to justice,” Langston said. “If we really want to be fair we should put the courthouse near Happy’s Inn. That way everyone would feel an equal share of the burden. People say we should punish criminals, but we do a lot of civil cases here too. A lot of our landlords are elderly. Driving that far in the winter is too much.”

The decesion to consolidate was an admittedly difficult one for commissioners Berget and Ron Downey, who voted 2-1 in favor of the change, overruling Eureka commissioner Mike Cole. Berget said the decision came down to saving money.

“There are a lot of people that are unhappy with me in Eureka,” Berget said. “I made the decision that had to be made, even though I knew that there was a good chance that I would lose the election by making all of those people mad.”

Berget is also running for re-election in the June 3 primary.